Bodies of knowledge: experience, commodification and labour in the imperial wildlife trade

Abstract

Abstract The production of zoological knowledge in the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth was closely tied to the supply of animal bodies to institutions like zoological gardens and university departments, sustained by a growing wildlife trade. This trade, however, used, developed and altered independent forms of knowledge that relied heavily on skills and competencies formed through experience and familiarization. These were ‘embodied’ in the sense that they were not only applied to the handling of these animals, but also shaped by the very animal bodies that were to be handled. Using the two German animal dealers Reiche and Ruhe as case studies, this paper examines the formation of this knowledge and the extent to which it was shaped by commercial interests. Originally canary traders, both companies leveraged their expertise and resources to expand into the wildlife trade. The paper thus explores how the canary trade provided transferable logistical knowledge and skills for the wildlife trade, highlighting the contributions of often unacknowledged workers in capturing, looking after and transporting animals. By foregrounding these complex networks and overlooked actors and spaces, this study sheds light on the co-production of knowledge and economic expertise in imperial contexts.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. The British Journal for the History of Science, 2026 · DOI ↗